AES E-Library

AES E-Library

Enhancements for Loose Particle Detection in Loudspeakers

During loudspeaker production, particles may become trapped in the loudspeaker motor and voice coil vicinity, resulting in a distinctive defect that is easily heard, but difficult to detect by traditional test and measurements.
We found that a Sine Sweep Stimulus followed by a High Pass Filter and RMS Envelope Analysis efficiently detected Loose Particles and Rub & Buzz defects.
The remaining problem is how to reduce the effect of background noise, and get more reliable results. Statistical descriptors such as Crest Factor, Skewness, and Kurtosis are first investigated. Experimental results are given and the different tools are compared.
New enhancements are described that increase effectively the overall immunity to background noise and discrimination of the method.